Wheel mounted manually operated non-lifting snow-throwing shovel



Oct. 11, 1955 c. w. CHAMBERLIN 2,720,043

WHEEL MOUNTED MANUALLY OPERATED NON-LIFTING SNOW-THROWING SHOVEL Filed001;. 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. CHESTER W. CHAMBERLIN Oct. 11,1955 c. w. CHAMBERLIN WHEEL MOUNTED MANUALLY OPERATED NON-LIFTINGSNOW-THROWING SHOVEL Filed 001;. 21, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.CHESTER W CHAMBERL IN W WHEEL MOUNTED MANUALLY OPERATED NON- LIFTINGSNOW-THROWING SHOVEL Chester W. Chamberiin, Cleveland Heights, OhioApplication October 21, 1952, Serial No. 315,947 Claims. or. 37-53 Thisinvention relates to snow shovels, and its general objects are toprovide a construction whereby a large size, manually operated snowshovel may effectively handle snow with increased rapidity andsubstantially reduced effort on the part of the user.

My snow shovel is so designed as to enable removing snow from walking ordriving surfaces, or the like, by the following steps:

First, the shovel is manually pushed into the snow to be removed. Whenthe shovel is filled, one of two operating handles may be presseddownwardly effecting a tilting and throwing action of the shovel, orsnow-carrying platter, thus throwing the snow to one side or the otherwithout the manual effort of lifting and swinging the load.

After each throwing action the snow-carrying portion or platter of myshovel returns to normal position on either side by reverse movement ofthe lifting and throwing lever handle or flip rod, as will hereinafterappear.

Because of the efliciency in handling relatively large amounts of snowwith a minimum of lifting or pushing and lifting action, andcorrespondingly with much less strain on the user, I refer to my shovelas the heart saver, inasmuch as it should afford relief to persons soafflicted with that condition as to normally prevent their using theusual type of snow shovels.

Other objects include a simple, efficient construction whereby thesnow-lifting and throwing platter may be mounted upon a wheel-supportedframe, and the provision of a simple mechanism for the tilting andthrowing action.

Still other objects and advantages will become apparent in the followingspecification which refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of shovel constructedin accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail View taken on a plane indicated by the line3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken substantially on a plane indicatedby the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing the operating mechanism for tiltingthe platter and throwing the load, the upright dumping position of thesnow-carrying platter being indicated in broken lines; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of linkage and operatingmembers taken on the same plane as Fig. 4, showing the position of theparts with the snowcarrying platter in its opposite upright position.

The wheel support, as shown, comprises a shaft 1, a pair of wheels 2suitably mounted at the ends of the shaft, and the shaft is shown aspassing through side plate-like members 5 and 6, which, however, may beconsidered illustrative of any suitable framework. The side framemembers 5 and 6 may be connected by suitable cross braces, as willappear.

The upper edge of the side frame members is preferably sloped on anangle of twenty to thirty degrees from the horizontal end. Rigidlyconnected across and bridgnited States Patent 0 2,720,043 Patented Oct.11, 1955 ing the forward lower portions of the members 5 and 6 is ascraper blade 10 having upturned and outwardly and forwardly flaringside flanges 12; this blade 10 being several inches across and servingalso as a brace between the forward ends of the frame members. At thelower rear portion of the members 5 and 6 they may be connected by across brace 13 for additional rigidity.

Lying in the sloping plane along the upper edges of the frame members 5and 6, and normally resting thereon, is the snow-carrying shovel proper,or platter 15, preferably formed of rigid metal and having its sideedges curved upwardly slightly forming flanges 16 to aid in retainingthe snow until the throwing action.

Extending between the blades and above the wheels is another bracing andcross member 20 which may be rigid with a tubular handle shaft 22, shownas extending upwardly and rearwardly, and as provided at the upper endwith a cross bar 24, extending each way from the tubular shaft, and onwhich may be fitted suitable handle grips 25 of rubber, or the like.

Journaled at either side of the handle shaft 22 in supports 27 and 28are a pair of oscillating rods or shafts, which I may term flip rods 30and 31, each having an outwardly extending lever handle 32 and 34. Atthe inner end these oscillating shafts pass through and are journaled inthe cross member 20, and each is provided with a crank arm connectedwith linkage for tilting the platter 15 and throwing the snow therefrom.

The arm 36 having its crank arm 37 extending to the right in Fig. 3, hasa journal tip indicated at 38 which projects into a slot 40 in anoperating link arm 42, pivoted at 43 to a cross member 45 rigid with theframe members 5 and 6. The other end of the link 42 carries a stud justoutside of the frame member 6. A member 48 constituting a dependingrigid strip extending transversely of and secured to the platter hasslots 50 and 51 therein, parallel with the platter, and in one of whichthe pin or stud 47 may slide.

The member 48 is preferably a flange-like strip which may fit into slotsin the upper edge of the members 5 and 6, as shown. Thus, when the fliprod 30 is turned by pressing downwardly upon the handle 32, the arm 37swings upwardly with its journal tip 38 sliding in the link slot 40,swinging the link 42 upwardly and to the left while the stud pin 47slides in the slot 50, and the platter 15 may thus be swung upwardly andto the left to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 4. This motionmay be rapidly effected by the multiplying action of the linkage, thusactually throwing a load of snow from the platter to the left of thesupporting frame.

To prevent the platter from moving sideways or downwardly during thistilting motion, I may provide stops with curving inner edges, as shownat 55 and 56, which ride on the upper edges of the frame members 5 and 6during this swinging and throwing action.

To effect the tilting and throwing action in the opposite direction, theshaft or flip rod 31 may be operated by pressing downwardly on thehandle 34. The rod 31 has a crank arm provided with a journal tip 61,which, in turn, engages a slot 62 in the link lever 63, shown as pivotedat 65 to a cross member 45, and as having an operating pivot pin 67engaging the slot 51 in the member 48, and which is parallel with theplane of the platter 15, as is the slot 50.

It will be seen that as the shaft or rod 31 is turned, the crank 60swings from the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to that shown in Fig. 5,carrying the link 63 upwardly and through the pin 67, tilting andlifting the platter 15 to the upright position shown in Fig. 5.

Various modifications may be made of this linkage, the essential objectsbeing to provide a simple and effective means of quickly tilting theplatter 15 with a throwing action to actually throw or flip the snow,similar to the throwing movement effected by the tossing action of ashovel being lifted and swung by hand with its load. The importantaccomplishment is that the physical effort of the user is exertedessentially in a downward direction upon the handle levers 32 or 34,which, by the way, may be of any suitable length for effective leverage.Thus, the muscular strain is very materially less by reason of themanner of applying the operating force than as though a snow load werelifted and tossed.

The wheel-mounted carriage and shovel obviously may be pushed forwardlyon the wheels with the scraper blade wedging the snow upwardly until thesnowcarrying platter is suitably loaded, and this is accomplished withmuch less effort than that required to thrust the usual shovel beneaththe snow.

Various modifications of my invention may be made without departing fromthe spirit of my invention as summarized in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A manually operated snow-removing and throwing implement comprising apair of wheels, a frame mounted thereon, a rigid handle connected to theframe and extending rearwardly and upwardly from the wheels and frame, aplatter having a snow-receiving and throwing surface and mounted on theframe in a downwardly sloping position, the forward edge of which isnormally adjacent to the ground, an operating shaft on each side of andjournaled to the rigid handle and each provided with an operating leverprojecting outwardly from the handle, and a crank at the inner end ofeach shaft extending from one side of the central position toward theopposite side of the platter and adapted to swing upwardly under theplatter as the operating lever is pushed downwardly.

2. The device described in claim 1 in which the frame carries a scrapingblade forwardly of and normally in the same plane with the platter andrigidly fixed to the frame.

3. The device described in claim 1 in which means are provided forpreventing the platter sliding downwardly when in tilting and throwingposition, said means comprising rigid members fixed to the platter andhaving curved supporting surfaces slidably engaging the frame as theplatter is tilted.

4. A hand snow removing and throwing implement comprising a pair ofwheels, a frame mounted thereon, a rigid handle connected to the frameand extending rearwardly and upwardly from the wheels and frame andadapted to push the same, a platter presenting a snow receiving andthrowing surface and mounted upon the frame normally in a downwardly andforwardly sloping direction, the forward edge of which is positionednormally adjacent to the ground, a rigid flange having separated slotforming surfaces therein and extending par- 'allel with the surface ofthe platter, an operating shaft on each side of and journaled on therigid handle and each provided with a hand-operated lever projectingoutwardly from the handle, a crank arm connected to each of said shafts,an operating pin connected with and movable by each crank arm andengaging the slot forming surfaces at a position toward the oppositeside of the platter from the axis of the crank arm, whereby when eitherarm is swung upwardly under the platter by moving the correspondinghand-operated lever downwardly, the platter is swung upwardly while theactuating pin on the other arm engaging slot forming surfaces limitsoutward movement of the platter away from the frame.

5. In a manually operated snow-removing implement, a coaxial wheeledtruck including an axle, a frame supported thereby, a rigid scraper edgeadapted to contact the surface from which snow is to be removed, anupwardly and rearwardly extending pushing handle carried by said frame,a snow-carrying platter sloping upwardly and rearwardly from the scaper,a pair of operating rods having handles adjacent the pushing handle andso connected to the frame and to the platter as to effect swinging theplatter upwardly to either side of the frame, the platter being providedon its underside with means providing a pair of horizontal slotsextending from the center to points near its sides, a pair of link armsconnected to the frame, one near one side and the other near the otherside of the frame, and each having elements engaging and slidable insaid slots, each link being provided with a longitudinal slot, crankarms having journal studs engaging the link slots, and said operatinghandle rods being non-rotatably connected to each of the crank armswhereby swinging one crank arm may tilt the platter upwardly and to theright of the frame, and swinging the other crank arm may tilt theplatter upwardly and to the left of the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS435,544 Morrell Sept. 2, 1890 2,441,449 Shaw May 11, 1948 2,470,217McLoughlin May 17, 1949 2,496,892 Puleo Feb. 7, 1950 2,520,606McLoughlin Aug. 29, 1950

